Model Railroader December 2022

Behind the scenes Ever wonder how about how it works when a product gets reviewed at Model Railroader? Eric White and Cody Grivno walk you through the process of reviewing an HO scale Rapido F59PH locomotive. From opening the box, taking photos, weighing the engine, writing the text, and more, see how it all comes together in this exclusive video! Find it in the Model Railroader product reviews section on Trains.com. Layout operations When two trains running in opposite directions on a single-track main have to pass each other, the dispatcher schedules them to meet at a passing siding. What happens when one or both of those trains is too long to fit into the siding? Engineers coped with a maneuver called a “saw-by.” Steven Otte discusses the ways a saw-by can add…

When is your realism level good enough? Realism is something that gets talked about often in model railroading. It’s one of the ways we differentiate our modeling from playing with toy trains. But what is realism, exactly? One of the first rules we learn as we become hobbyists is “It’s my layout, and I make the rules.” So that means we each get to set the standard for realism for ourselves. Well known modeler and innovator Allen McClelland is famous for his “good enough” approach to modeling. That is, choose a standard you feel is attainable, then make every part of your layout reach that standard. His feeling was you don’t want superdetailed locomotives and rolling stock rolling through a city made of cardboard boxes. Better to slack off a bit on the…

HO scale Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive. Broadway Limited Imports has released the Big Boy steam locomotive in its Paragon4 line. Paint schemes on the HO scale engine include No. 4014 (“The Big Boy Tour” excursion scheme with a standard finish and the Promontory Excursion scheme with a gloss finish), 1941 with as-delivered aftercooler and 25-C-100 coal tender, 1944 with Wilson aftercooler and 25-C-100 coal tender, and fictional two-tone gray. The model ($869.99) is offered in one to three road numbers per scheme and features synchronized puffing smoke with chuff sounds and a dual-mode Paragon4 sound decoder. Broadway Limited Imports, 386-673-8900, broadway-limited.com Walthers’ new name train Wm. K. Walthers Inc. announced that the City of San Francisco will be its next name train. The offering will feature equipment from the various railroads that…

Speed matching DCC locomotives for better consisting Q Can you provide a simple procedure for pairing locomotives in a consist? One locomotive is pulling or pushing the one in front.Stephen J. Szypula A Regular readers may be feeling a sense of déjà vu. Yes, I answered Stephen’s question in a recent column, discussing the different methods of consisting DCC locomotives together. But an important part of making your consist work is speed-matching the locomotives so they don’t fight each other. So this month we’re looking at speed matching. Newer, high-end decoders let you individually tweak your locomotive’s response at each speed step. But for most modelers, that level of granularity isn’t necessary. We’re going to keep things simple and deal with just three Configuration Variables: CV2 (Vstart), CV5 (Vmax or Vhigh), and CV6…

Wrap it up, I’ll take it I’d like to make a comment about the article in the last issue, where they spoke of moving a large model railroad to a museum (“All Aboard!”, Sept. 2022). I’ve moved too many times. Once, I had a number of items shipped to someone and watched what the shippers did. When I moved from Chicago to the Washington, D.C. area, I took my Texas module – which was about 3'-6" x 5'-0" and had roads, dirt, and scenery – and used most of a roll of plastic wrap to completely cover it. It survived that move to storage, and then to the new house, and when I unwrapped it, it was almost completely undamaged.Mark Roth, Silver Spring, Md. Weather your vehicles, too Model railroaders, young and old,…

Before my layout was featured on the cover of the Dec. 2021 MR, I was a loner in the hobby. Only one other modeler had ever seen my layout. I was a happy modeler doing my own thing. I was unprepared for what followed. After that issue came out, I was contacted by a dozen or more model railroaders, most in my area, who were previously unaware of my layout. They all wanted to see my work, and I gladly opened my doors. Thanks to the article, I have made many new friendships that I expect will last a long time. A few have offered to help with my layout. The San Diego Division of the National Model Railroad Association also came to visit. They held an open house event at my…